The pursuit by St. John’s for a second NCAA Tournament bid in three seasons will continue without leading scorer D’Angelo Harrison, who has been suspended for the remainder of the season by coach Steve Lavin.

The school announced the decision Friday morning without declaring a cause for the action. A 6-3 sophomore from Missouri City, Tex., Harrison has been one of the team’s most productive players in both his college seasons.

This year, he was the No. 3 scorer in the Big East conference, averaging 17.8 points and also contributing 4.3 rebounds per game. He struggled terribly in the Red Storm’s most recent game, a home loss to No. 23 Pitt in which he shot 1-of-12 from the field and scored six points.

“I had a productive meeting with D’Angelo yesterday,” Lavin said Friday in a statement. “He has a bright future in basketball, and I’m optimistic his time away from our team will be of value.”

In November, SportsNet New York’s Adam Zagoria wrote about Harrison’s struggle to stay in Lavin’s good graces. Harrison’s did not start the team’s first exhibition and was held out of the second altogether.

“With D’Angelo, one of his real gifts is his fire and his passion, and one’s greatest strength is also their greatest weakness,” Lavin said then. “We’re working with D’Angelo to understand how he uses that passion and fire in a productive manner to help our team as a leader and a basketball player.

“I’ve used several methods as a head coach to help him understand how important it is that he uses his fire and passion in a productive way.”